German lawmakers vote to abolish pandemic restrictions

BERLIN (AP) — Lawmakers in Germany have voted to abolish most of the country’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite a surge in cases with almost 300,000 new daily cases. The Bundestag passed an amendment to the pandemic rules in a 388-277 vote with two abstentions. The upper house of parliament is expected to consider the measure later Friday. The changes mean that the requirement to wear face masks will be dropped for most public settings from Sunday. But they may still be required on public transport. Visitors of care homes will also continue to need negative COVID-19 tests but these will not be required any longer in other walks of life. German states can still impose new restrictions to curb outbreaks in virus “hot spots.”